In high school I used to always tell Vermont and New Hampshire apart on the map from the fact that Vermont is kinda shaped like the letter V. Vermont has also been one of those states that I always wanted to visit. Before, it was probably because as a teenager I remember seeing fabulous snow pictures from the area in Powder-magazine. Secondly, the more important reason being, that I have family there. My mother’s cousin has lived in Vermont with his wife for a long time and has been asking us cousins to come visit for ages. I too get called Cuz, for cousin. My mother also has a friend in Burlington from her time as a foreign exchange student, Candy. Last year’s travels in the US were actually more for my mother, which I just happened to put together with my, ahem, exceptional planning skills. I was more along for the ride and as the designated driver with my US driver’s license. And who would say no to such a trip anyways?

In the yard of Candy’s old house, I spotted this butterfly. We were on our way to swim in Lake Champlain, where Candy said she’d spent countless hours as a child. The lake has gathered life and people around itself, because most of Vermont’s population lives in the Burlington area, on the banks of Lake Champlain. On the opposite shore, behind the Adirondack mountains, in the state of New York lies Lake Placid, where they held the Winter Olympics twice in 1932 and 1980. The word Adirondack always makes me think of those wooden chairs, you know?

The downtown area of Burlington is easily accessible and you can find lots of little shops there, including the locally famous Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shop. Some of my favorites during US travels are always J. Crew and Urban Outfitters or Anthropologie. Uphill from the downtown area you will find the University, which is one of the oldest in the US and known especially for its Faculty of Medicine. The city is filled with college students, who travel around on bikes and longboards. Downhill from downtown lies the harbor, where you can catch the ferry over the Lake Champlain to New York, where our host Candy picks up organic groceries from a co-op farm every week. And I must say, that it was some of the best organic food I’ve ever eaten. Or what do you think about home made yogurt out of a glass jar, served with organic peaches?

One of the harbors also houses our cousin Jussi’s motor boat and he is an avid fisherman and diver in his spare time. He is actually a pilot by profession, but he also imports ice fishing gear and fishing lures from Finland. On Jussi’s boat we enjoyed beer from his old home state Missouri, where he used to go to school to be a pilot back in the days.

The small town of Winooski is located north of Burlington and through it runs the aptly named river, Winooski. By following this river southeast you will sooner or later find yourself in the town of Waterbury, where some of that world famous Ben & Jerry’s ice cream is made. More about that next time.